In the first year since efficacy results were reported, LEN for PrEP has achieved critical milestones in record time compared to oral PrEP, the dapivirine vaginal ring, and injectable cabotegravir. Speed, scale, and equity are still needed to deliver impact.
View the interactive version on our comprehensive page on all things lenacapavir. And the animated GIF version is available for download.
Regulatory approvals, pending decisions, and appeals as of November 2025. For product approvals, volumes, implementation, and price comparisons of long-acting PrEP, visit our dashboard on PrEPWatch.org.
This timeline shows the potential time points when the next-generation of HIV prevention options might find their way into new programs.
The rollout of oral PrEP demonstrates that people don’t take PrEP simply because it’s available—there needs to be a demand for it, and it needs to be accessible, acceptable and used effectively by those who need and want it. These are the lessons the field is applying to the rollout of the dapivirine vaginal ring (DVR), and injectable cabotegravir (CAB) and lenacapavir (LEN) for PrEP. To reach the UNAIDS target of 10 million PrEP users by 2025, initiations of oral PrEP alone will not be enough—and this graphic shows that the field is beginning to apply past lessons to accelerate introduction of injectable PrEP options.
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The chaos in foreign assistance programs (including discontinuation of major PrEP programs), cuts in staffing and new demands on donor commitments will make decisions on the procurement of LEN for PrEP more complex and uncertain.
In December 2024, the Global Fund and PEPFAR announced a plan to reach 2 million people with LEN for PrEP over three years. Exactly how funding to support this unprecedented introduction program will move forward is far from certain. The other stakeholders, including Global Fund, Gilead, CIFF and the Gates Foundation expressed commitments to the deal and are making progress, but major questions remain.
This graphic shows currently available options for HIV prevention, newly approved and recommended treatment, and those in development.
Seventeen countries are hosting sites for the Phase 3 efficacy trials of a monthly PrEP pill, MK-8527, being developed by Merck (also known as MSD outside of the US and Canada). Merck announced the launch of the Phase 3 trials at IAS 2025 in Kigali. MK-8527 was found to be safe and well-tolerated in Phase 2 clinical trials.
The Global Fund, with support from CIFF, and PEPFAR have jointly committed to reaching up to two million people with injectable lenacapavir for PrEP over three years. Supply of LEN is due to begin arriving in countries in late 2025 with service delivery planned to start in early 2026.
The first supplies of injectable cabotegravir for programmatic use (as opposed to use in implementation studies) began to arrive in countries in 2024. Currently, 16 countries are rolling out CAB for programmatic use, with the majority of supply provided by PEPFAR, and some additional quantities procured by the Global Fund.
